LOTF: Before and After

Phase 3: Chapter 29

He tried so hard not to think of it; to think of anything else. His mind wandered from school to his Super Nintendo game to his homework back to school to painful memories to a life he no longer had back to the present. Then it was Jack Merridew all over again. Emma. The dance. Right now. Jack and Emma at the dance.

Goddamnit.

Ralph was bored to tears. His father was down in the basement watching the basketball game with a few work buddies he invited over. His mother, bless her heart, was in the middle of baking dozens upon dozens of cookies for the bake sale at Ralph's school on Monday. Ralph sat on the couch, playing Mariokart for the 23rd race in a row. He thought about making a plan with Sam and Eric but given the forty five minute distance between their houses, it wasn't likely to happen.

Ralph wandered into the kitchen and breathed in the joyous scent of his mom's fresh cookie dough and homemade icing.

"Can I help?" Ralph asked politely as his stomach knotted up. He wouldn't be able to take more than a bite or two without getting nauseous, but he used to enjoy baking with his mom before the island; before his diet was poisoned by a tropical survival diet.

"Course you can, baby. Want to make another batch of icing?" his mother suggested.

"You bet" Ralph agreed, and began following the hand written recipe card on the counter. Almost all their recipes came directly from Laurie's mom's self-made cookbook. She had been both a chef and a baker in her day, and up until the island, Ralph had swooned over every baked good she ever made.

After an hour, and clothes covered in flour and sugar, Ralph was exhausted. Laurie insisted that they call it a day and finish making the rest tomorrow or Sunday. Ralph tiredly agreed, and offered to clean up the kitchen for his mom.

"Aren't you just a gift?" she kissed him swiftly on the head before she left the disastrous kitchen for the boy to attend to.

Truth be told, Ralph had been being extra gift-like since he snapped at his dad the night before. Jeffery had made his way to bed last night and told his wife about Ralph's unusual outburst, hoping he wasn't entering the terrible teen years early. She wasn't convinced that something deeper wasn't going on, but by the next morning, it was clear that whatever had set Ralph off, he was real sorry about it now.

Ralph started sealing open bags of flour, sugar, baking soda, sprinkles and other baking ingredients, shoving the half full bags and containers back into their respective places in the pantry. His clothes were filthy by this point and Ralph realized he'd have to shower tonight to avoid making his bedroom floor look like the kitchen counter of Betty Crocker. As he wet a cloth to begin wiping down all the powder-covered surfaces, there was a quiet but still apparent knock at the door.

Ralph glanced down the hallway to see if either of his parents heard the door, but all was still and quiet. He sighed as he set down the wet cloth and approached the door. It wasn't late; only just after 2030 hours. Ralph somewhat reluctantly opened the door, relieved to see it wasn't totally dark out yet.

But relief wasn't the emotion that paced through Ralph's body when he saw Jack at his door, dressed like he was on his way to pick up Cinderella in a giant pumpkin. Before Ralph could speak, he noticed that Jack's eyes were glassy and he had tear streaks stained down his face. He looked desperate, like he was looking right through Ralph for something. Ralph's first thought was that Evan hit Jack again, perhaps in front of Emma, but the brunette couldn't see a noticeable mark on the boy's face or neck.

"What are you doing here?" Ralph asked with concern, but clearly still bothered by the blond's presence. They hadn't seen or spoken to each other since the night of the festival.